Another Dam Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. With all the popular resistance against fossil fuels, dirty wood biomass and the destruction of our public forests in the Commonwealth, the troubling issue of Megadams up north and their literal connection to our electrical power in the Northeast is often overlooked. Our friend Meg Sheehan of the North American Megadams Resistance Alliance (NAMRA) stands in solidarity with groups opposing megadams and joins us along with Sandi Howard from Say NO to NECEC for the full hour on this show. Here on the blog we'll continue to bring you along for a look at this week's Fool-on-the-Hill, His Most Impeachable Mad King and his Court, as well as give your less enlightened kin the reminder "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" but first it's time for...........Revenge of the Critters! Walrus Sinks Russian Navy Boat. We guess this is war.

Not every Fool-on-the-Hill actually works there, right? Some fools are just visitors like The Mad King's White House counsel in His Impeachment trial, Pat Cipollone. You'd have to go a ways to find a more foolish remark than Cipollone's recent whopper in which he apparently stated with a straight face that: “President Trump is a man of his word”. Actually.........nah!

We have some sorry-ass Breaking News! It seems Beacon Hill, ("The place where legislation goes to die") in its eternal wisdom, will not be reporting out H.897 An Act Relative to Forest Protection. Sadly, Bill McKibben's 11th hour plea in support of the bill was too little/too late. That said, you still can join the call for a moratorium on logging PUBLIC land in the Commonwealth HERE .  There is, however, some good news: The other bill McKibben referenced, H.853 An Act to assure the attainment of greenhouse gas emissions goals in the alternative portfolio standard, or the Biomass Bill, will be reported out. 

On to His Malignancy The Mad King himself! Let's see what nefarious deeds he's up to lately. Most recently while in Davos prowling around with actual billionaires (instead of at his own Impeachment Trial) he publicly revealed cuts to earned Medicare and Social Security benefits will be on the table as soon as the end of this year, according to Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. Not content with just throwing granny under the bus, His Malignancy's Court of Corruption today (Thursday, January 23, 2020) "will finalize a rule to strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands and other water bodies" in the U.S.  Meanwhile, over at his Department of Injustice "New emails show the... Department is helping Big Oil fight climate lawsuits"! Also this: "The White House announced....that it plans to veto the PFAS Action Act of 2019, which aims to keep harmful forever chemicals out of groundwater", Newsweek reported. Also, "The [Mad King's] U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving forward with a proposed rulemaking to eliminate its requirements for offsite emergency preparedness around a new generation of Small Modular Reactors and other contemplated non-light water reactors. The NRC staff acknowledges that the rule change could also apply to aging, large conventional light water reactors in the US, the brunt of which have had their licenses extendedby decades." We're pretty sure there's more new assaults planned by His Malignancy out there but maybe this is enough for this week.....or just maybe we'll be rid of him?

Time to remind anyone who isn't paying attention that....."It's the Climate crisis, Stupid!" As we move beyond "The Hottest Decade on Record" to who knows what all Greta Thunberg reminds those with the most among us: "Our house is still on fire. Your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour. And we are telling you to act as if you loved your children above all else." Meanwhile our friends at Grist point out: "The American Petroleum Institute, Big Oil’s biggest lobbying group, is rolling out a new ad campaign focused on “energy progress” and heralding its efforts to address the need for cleaner energy. “Natural gas and oil,” says a new ad, reversing the usual order of things, “This is energy progress.” Really? OK, we guess if The Mad King is now "a man of his word" then so must the climate criminals be? [insert hysterical laughter here] Actually, like Orwell noted: “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” 

On to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday, February 13, 10:00am-12:00pm. All Out! for a DCR Forest Action Plan Meeting. Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls, MA. Prepare to make the case for REAL forest protection and preservation! " Forest Action Plans represent a comprehensive assessment of the state's forest resources across public and private land, guide the work of forestry professionals, and inform conservation and land use plans. Join the Department of Conservation and Recreation to provide feedback and discuss the draft of the 2020 Forest Action Plan." 

Thursday February 13, 5pm. Indigenous Women on the Front Lines of Environmental Activism: The Battle for Environmental Justice in the Amazon. Conference Center Paradise Room, Smith College, Northampton, MA. Call 413-585-2407.

Saturday February 15, 6:30 to 8pm. The Cougar Returns to the East.  There is no question about it. Cougars are not only being seen in eastern North America, some are attempting to recolonize their former habitats.  Where once it was flatly dismissed as an impossibility in the so-called “developed” east, scientists have now documented cougar dispersals and even occupancy in a growing list of eastern states and provinces. Join us for a magnificently illustrated introduction to cougar biology and ecology in the broad diversity of habitats. Berkshire Community College 1350 West St. Pittsfield, MA. Phone: (413) 230-7321 

That's all, folks! Remember, when you're out there....Listen to your Mother!